Collaborative Research: ORCC: Saltwater Rising: Understanding how sea level rise affects coastal amphibians

合作研究：ORCC：盐水上升：了解海平面上升如何影响沿海两栖动物

• 批准号: 2307831
• 负责人: Molly Albecker
• 金额: $ 37.58万
• 依托单位: University of Houston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-12-01 至 2026-11-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2307831&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; ORCC; Saltwater; Rising

Climate change is increasing the amount of salt of coastal freshwater habitats, driven by sea-level rise and intensified storm surges. Anurans (frogs and toads) play a pivotal role in wetland ecosystems and are presumed to be intolerant of saltwater, but recent syntheses indicate more salt tolerance than previously thought. This project improves our understanding of the limits of salt tolerance in anuran species occupying coastal habitats on two sea level rise fronts (Gulf and Atlantic coasts). The project uses an experimental approach that investigates multiple salinities, species, life stages, and levels of biological organization, providing data that can guide coastal managers and practitioners in improving coastal resilience and preventing biodiversity loss. Specifically, the study will identify life stage-specific mortality from salt stress across species to predict vulnerable life stages and breeding times. This research will determine whether species relatedness and ecological traits can predict salinity vulnerability and characterize the extent that the effects of saltwater at one life stage cascade across life stages. Finally, this study aims to understand how saltwater affects amphibian physiology across species and life stages, focusing on membrane permeability, hormones, and cellular processes. In summary, this research will produce diverse physiological, life history, phylogenetic, and genomic datasets that span across life stages and species to determine the salinity tolerance of anuran species that occupy coastal habitats with the goal of informing conservation actions and predicting climate change impacts. The project will also educate students and the public on various topics such as conservation and physiology. Climate change-driven sea level rise is increasing salinization of coastal habitats. Sea levels along the United States coastlines are predicted to rise between 50 and 100 cm in the next 70 years, with the east and gulf coasts facing intensified impacts. Anurans, or frogs and toads, are expected to be severely affected by salinity increases, as they are considered largely saltwater intolerant. However, salinity tolerance among amphibians is more variable than commonly considered, leaving uncertainty in the predictions of seawater inundation effects on coastal communities. To address these gaps, this research will focus on 10 anuran species with known populations within five miles of coastlines near Houston, Texas and Sapelo Island, Georgia. These locations are dual sea level rise fronts with low-elevation coastlines and freshwater wetlands expected to be inundated by the year 2050 under moderate sea level rise scenarios. The project will use a comparative approach to investigate how life history traits and evolutionary history affect stage-specific survival in higher salinities, how chronic saltwater exposure affects long-term growth, development, and fitness, and the physiological responses to saltwater exposure. This research will inform questions on how complex life cycles affect persistence in novel environments, how physiological mechanisms facilitate saltwater tolerance, and how chronic versus acute exposure affect survival and persistence. Additionally, this research will provide baselines for predicting how different coastal species will fare as sea level rise pushes saltwater further upriver and inland, which can guide coastal managers and practitioners to improve coastal resiliency and prevent biodiversity losses.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

由于海平面上升和风暴潮加剧，气候变化正在增加沿海淡水栖息地的盐含量。无尾动物（青蛙和蟾蜍）在湿地生态系统中发挥着关键作用，被认为不耐盐水，但最近的合成表明它们的耐盐性比之前想象的要强。该项目提高了我们对占据两个海平面上升前沿（海湾和大西洋海岸）沿海栖息地的无尾物种耐盐极限的了解。该项目采用实验方法调查多种盐度、物种、生命阶段和生物组织水平，提供可以指导沿海管理者和从业人员提高沿海恢复能力和防止生物多样性丧失的数据。具体来说，该研究将确定各个物种因盐胁迫而导致的特定生命阶段的死亡率，以预测脆弱的生命阶段和繁殖时间。这项研究将确定物种相关性和生态特征是否可以预测盐度脆弱性，并表征盐水在一个生命阶段的影响在整个生命阶段的级联影响程度。最后，本研究旨在了解盐水如何影响跨物种和生命阶段的两栖动物生理学，重点关注膜渗透性、激素和细胞过程。总之，这项研究将产生跨越生命阶段和物种的不同生理、生活史、系统发育和基因组数据集，以确定占据沿海栖息地的无尾动物物种的耐盐性，目的是为保护行动提供信息并预测气候变化影响。该项目还将就保护和生理学等各种主题对学生和公众进行教育。气候变化导致的海平面上升正在加剧沿海栖息地的盐碱化。预计未来 70 年美国海岸线海平面将上升 50 至 100 厘米，东部和墨西哥湾沿岸将面临更严重的影响。无尾目动物，或青蛙和蟾蜍预计将受到盐度增加的严重影响，因为它们被认为很大程度上不耐盐水。然而，两栖动物的耐盐性比通常认为的更加多变，这使得海水淹没对沿海群落影响的预测存在不确定性。为了弥补这些差距，这项研究将重点关注德克萨斯州休斯顿和佐治亚州萨佩洛岛附近海岸线 5 英里范围内已知种群的 10 个无尾动物物种。这些地点是海平面上升的双重锋线，在海平面适度上升的情况下，预计到 2050 年，低海拔海岸线和淡水湿地将被淹没。该项目将采用比较方法来研究生活史特征和进化史如何影响高盐度下特定阶段的生存，长期接触盐水如何影响长期生长、发育和健康，以及对盐水接触的生理反应。这项研究将提出以下问题：复杂的生命周期如何影响新环境中的持久性、生理机制如何促进盐水耐受性，以及慢性与急性暴露如何影响生存和持久性。此外，这项研究还将提供基线，用于预测随着海平面上升将咸水进一步推向上游和内陆，不同沿海物种将如何生存，这可以指导沿海管理者和从业人员提高沿海弹性并防止生物多样性丧失。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并具有通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。